Lingering Irish Twilight

Twilight is a mystical time, especially during summertime in Ireland. The sun struggles to set on the western ocean horizon, casting supernatural light across the waves and land. Here twilight is not measured in minutes or hours, but by magical, timeless moments.

For most readers the word ‘twilight’ conjures up images of vampires and Stephanie Meyer’s saga. Not for me. Twilight reminds me of Ireland, where magical half-light lingers.

American twilight is different, shorter and more business like, except I suppose in Alaska. In Kentucky, the sun heads for the horizon and achieves its goal in spectacular fashion. Here in America we even praise the “twilight’s last gleaming” in our National Anthem.

In Ireland, the summer sun takes a little more time to finally set, lingering on the verge of the horizon, shedding mysterious half-light across ocean swells and patchwork fields.

Apparently Ireland is further from the equator than the lower 48 US states, lengthening Irish twilight hours in summer.

The slow setting Irish summer sun creates a time when the faeries, the gatekeepers of the Celtic Otherworld, can spirit humans away to a land beyond time.

William Butler Yeats was inspired by twilight’s mystical light. His book The Celtic Twilight is a collection of Irish folklore. Here Celtic queens visit humble housewives, dead warriors spring to life, and blind storytellers share the secrets of our mythical past. This is Irish folk art at its finest. Yeats helped ensure these ancient tales would persist in the perpetual twilight of folk history.

When I was a little girl, my grandaunt Nan loved to read poetry. On the wall of her living room she had framed the following verse by Yeats. I read it over and over again as a little girl, enthralled by the magic of his words.

He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven

W.B. Yeats

“Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”

James Joyce also used his talented pen to describe the beautiful colors of Irish twilight.

Chamber Music

by James Joyce

“The twilight turns from amethyst

To deep and deeper blue,

The lamp fills with a pale green glow

The trees of the avenue.”

There are a few words in the Irish language that refer to this time of day.

“Coimheascair” (pronounced kwiv ashkur) refers to twilight, but it also means struggle. Was the word applied to the end of day to highlight the struggle between sunlight and moon light? I like the poetic origins of this connection.

“Clapsholas” (pronounced clop hullus) means “last light”.

Another word is “idirsholas” (pronounced idur hullus) meaning “between light”, or “idir an dá sholas ” (pronounced idur on daw hullus) meaning between the two lights. Once again, beautifully poetic.

And so, I hope these few thoughts about my fond recollections of Irish twilights will help you end your day on a positive note.

No matter how hard your day may be, I hope twilight is a reminder of all the wonders of life that lie ahead.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

If you enjoyed this post here are some other stories and tributes you might enjoy.

Comments

Thank you for sharing those beautiful photos ! I do remember that from when I was in Ireland, and living in the middle of the United States it is hard to imagine that Summer nights can be that long and that beautiful! The poems were nice, too. Thank you and have a wonderful Memorial Weekend !

Bobbi – When it doesn’t rain, summer nights can be truly beautiful in Ireland. So glad you have been blessed with the opportunity to experience them. Hope you too have a lovely Memorial Weekend. Best wishes, Mairéad

Mairead, your post brings to mind the lyrics The Platters sang ever so long ago: “Heavenly shades of night are falling, it’s twilight time.” Oh, I know it’s not Yeats, but the melody and lyrics seem to correspond to the sentiment of your post. “Twilight” interestingly refers to dawn as well as…well, twilight. The English noun “crespuscule” and adjective “crespuscular” are synonymic for “twilight” and “things twilight,” although I don’t think a single poet, Yeats in particular, would have substituted such a cumbersome word for one that trips as lightly from one’s tongue as “twilight.” TMJ

T.M. = “Heavenly shades of night are falling, it’s twilight time.” I really like those lyrics – they definitely express the sentiments of this post. I never heard the word “crespuscule” before – definitely too much of a tongue twister for lyrical poetic rhythms. I don’t thing Stephanie Meyer’s vampire sagas would have been so popular either if named “crespuscule”. Thanks so much for stopping by, Mairéad

I mentioned the word “crepuscular” before in one of my sunset posts from Arabia Mountain! One point, the song “twilight’s last gleaming” was not really in praise of the twilight, it was just that the flag was visible at the last rays of the day, and then was not seen again until the “dawn’s early light”! (And how happy was he to see that the American flag WAS STILL THERE!) Such beautiful words by Francis Scott Key! Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Kay – “Crepuscular” – I’ll have to try and remember it. Last night as the sun was going down I couldn’t quite recall it. I kept saying “crep-something-or-other” in my mind. It’s one of those good old words from times long ago. Francis Scott Key’s words in the national anthem truly are beautiful. Thanks so much for stopping by, Mairéad

Twilight is my favourite time of day. The soft, dreamy light between day and night does have a magical quality to it. The pictures of twilight in Ireland makes me wish I was there. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos Mairead!

Kim – Thanks for your kind words about my photos. I was so happy when I captured the “soft,dreamy light” of twilight. It really is a magical time during the summer months in Ireland. Best wishes, and thanks for stopping by. Mairéad

What a lovely blog! The Irish twilight truly are magical. This reminded me of a late June twilight spent at Clonmacnois, when the sun hung suspended in the sky till after 9:00pm…we had no idea how late it was and felt as if we were in a dream.